Deshaun Watson will be back under center for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday when they host his former team, the Houston Texans, ending a week of speculation about whether second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders had done enough to keep the job. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com and The Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported Wednesday morning that Watson will start, and ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal and The Athletic later confirmed that head coach Todd Monken has decided to start Watson.
Watson missed Cleveland’s game at New Orleans on November 8 while in the NFL’s concussion protocol. He entered the protocol after the Browns’ 27-6 loss at Pittsburgh on November 1, missed practices last week, and cleared the protocol over the weekend, according to Cabot’s reporting. With a full week of practice now available to him, the Browns are turning back to the quarterback who started their first eight games.
Sanders made the most of his one start. Filling in against the Saints, he completed 19 of 31 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-22 overtime loss — a performance strong enough that Monken declined on Monday to confirm Watson would get his job back, even as reports said the Browns planned to start Watson against Houston.
Monken explained the delay on Wednesday, saying he had “no intention of Deshaun Watson not being our starter,” according to Cabot’s reporting. He said he held off announcing it because he “wanted to make sure to run by the staff before I said it publicly,” and added, in remarks reported by Cabot, “I don’t even know why I have to say it publicly, because it’s really only our business in terms of who’s going to play and who’s not going to play. But I mean, he played well enough to earn and still be our starter.”
Watson, for his part, told reporters Wednesday that he never doubted he would start once he could fully practice, according to Cabot’s reporting of his remarks. Asked why Monken had left the door open on Monday, Watson said, in Cabot’s reporting, “I’m not sure. You have to ask [Monken] about that. My job is to just come in every day and whatever is required for the day.” Asked whether he expects to remain the starter the rest of the season, he repeated that the front office decides who starts and who sits.
The numbers explain why the debate existed at all. Watson has thrown for 1,806 yards with seven touchdown passes and three interceptions in eight starts, completing 65.5% of his passes, and he guided Cleveland to a 5-3 record in those games. He also produced five fourth-quarter game-winning drives from Week 2 through Week 7. But ESPN statistics cited in coverage of the decision had him beginning Wednesday ranked 28th among 31 qualified quarterbacks in adjusted QBR, at 40.8.
Sunday adds a personal layer. Watson played his first four NFL seasons with the Texans, who drafted him, before being traded to Cleveland ahead of the 2022 season. Sunday will mark only his second start against Houston since the trade, and it comes with both teams’ playoff hopes on the line: the Browns are 5-4, the Texans 3-5, and Cleveland’s own postseason position is part of why the quarterback call drew so much attention this week. NewsForce247 reported last week that the Browns stood pat at the trade deadline, keeping this roster — and these quarterbacks — for the stretch run.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: What is confirmed, through Cabot’s reporting and confirmation by ESPN, the Akron Beacon Journal and The Athletic, is that Watson starts Sunday and Sanders returns to the backup role. What remains open is how long the leash is. Cleveland has its bye the following week, and a poor performance against Houston would send the Browns into that break with the same question they spent this week deflecting.
The decision also lands in a busy stretch for Northeast Ohio football. While the Browns sort out their present, the region’s college programs are collecting postseason honors — five Akron Zips earned All-BIG EAST honors this week as their conference tournament begins.
What happens next is simple and immediate: Watson leads the Browns onto the field in Cleveland on Sunday against the team that drafted him, with Sanders one play away from returning. Win, and the controversy quiets for at least a week. Lose, and the bye week will be filled with the same debate — this time with Monken’s own words about who earned the job hanging over it.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY